20 Questions For “The Gamers: Dorkness Rising”
It’s been a while since there’s been an updates here on The Gamers website, and we apologize deeply to our devoted fans. So, how better to placate the torchlit mob outside our gates than to place the power directly in their hands? Having interviewed many fans through various means (answering direct emails, corresponding through our store, torturing them in our office dungeon, ya know) we’d like to present you with the twenty most often asked questions concerning The Gamers: Dorkness Rising. Our responses might even include some actual answers! Yes! And, while you’re reading these, should a question pop into your mind, feel free to email us! We’ll do this once a month until the DVD is in your hands. All right, here we go with the First Twenty Questions…
Q) When is the movie coming out?
A) Hmmm, seems we get asked this a lot. The movie will screen at Gen Con Indy and Gen Con So Cal in 2006. As to when the DVD will be available, we can only hope for the year’s end. This is a much larger production than the original Gamers, and so there is a great deal more work to be done in post-production. Expect to be blown away and for the wait to be worth it.
Q) So, is the movie finished filming?
A) Yes. The entire movie is “in the can”, as we say in this business. There’s just a lot more to making a movie than filming it, but many of the other questions address these details. For this answer, trust me: The movie WILL appear. There is no chance it will NOT happen, because it has had every scene performed and recorded.
Q) Why is there no Rogar in this one?
A) The actor who played Rogar, Matt Shimkus, is in grad school in theater outside of Washington State, and so he was simply unavailable. We can’t tell you exactly where he is without his permission, because, you know, hordes of adoring fans will give him no rest. Hmmmm, perhaps we SHOULD tell you where he is . . . ** cough, cough, CHICAGO, cough **
Q) What character classes will make up the party in this Gamers outing?
A) The party will consist of five D&D 3.5 basic character classes. They are: Paladin, Fighter, Monk, Bard, and Sorceress. It’s a well-rounded, ass-kicking adventuring party.
Q) I have heard that you are using the actual D&D rules this time around. True?
A) Indeed we are. We have been blessed with support from the gaming industry. You’ll not only see Dungeons & Dragons in the actors’ hands, but the script was revised to make it accurate according to the rules we know so well. Go ahead, try and count bullets if you will. You won’t find inaccurate game play, though of course there is no accounting for the unfair DM or the party making dumb choices and bad dice rolls. And we mean REALLY bad dice rolls!
Q) Aside of D&D being visible, are there any other things we gamers will recognize in The Gamers: Dorkness Rising?
A) You’ll see a lot of other games in the real world sequences, and sometimes the party will even be playing them (waiting for the rest of the group to show up for the main game). You’ll also see some gaming celebrity cameo appearances.
Q) What is the plot?
A) Well, it’s—HEY! No spoilers! You’ll simply have to wait for Gen Con. But for those of you who just can’t wait: along the way, the party will face a goblin battle, a full dungeon crawl, and a town of the undead. And were those pirates?
Q) Will the Purple Ninja be in this movie?
A) The Purple Ninja has appeared in every Dead Gentlemen production so far. This is the largest Dead Gentlemen production to date. What do you think?
Q) Will the cast be present at GenCon when the movie screens?
A) Some of the cast will be there, and possibly all of them, but there are no solid plans yet. Aside from the travel costs alone, we all have real jobs, lives, children and such, and therefore scheduling is also a very difficult thing to work with. We’ll see what happens come August.
Q) What treasures will the party use in this movie?
A) I assume this means treasures from the DMG. Well, that would fall under the Spoiler Censorship Clause (which basically means that if I tell you I get my head cut off, or worse), so you’ll just have to explore the dungeon along with the audience and see. I CAN say that there are indeed some actual D&D treasures worked into the script.
Q) How many people die in this movie?
A) I can’t believe how many times I am actually asked this question. Well, it seems we cater to our audience very well, because there are a lot of on-screen deaths, though not to disappoint anyone (especially distributors), there is no blood. The deaths are more comical, in a very Wily E. Coyote sort of way. However, the lack of gore notwithstanding, there are a good fifty enemy deaths, and even a few party members, or not, or maybe, depends on how you define ‘death’ (you’ll understand when you see the movie). NOTE: When I asked writer/director Matt Vancil how many people died in the movie, he replied “Not nearly enough!” Then he ate his umbrella. Swear to God.
Q) What about the language in this film?
A) I assume this refers to profanity. Well, the original Gamers wasn’t intended to be seen by many people, and so censorship wasn’t really a concern. However, this time around, we’ve had a few paladins looking over our shoulders, for better or worse, and so the profanity is “self-censored”, meaning we use variants of four-letter words, so you know what we mean but we don’t really piss anybody the frell off, either (aside from the folks at Farscape). Well, there IS, actually, ONE naughty word. We’re shameless.
Q) Any sex scenes?
A) Um, if we can’t have profanity, can we have sex scenes? Can we? Can we, really? Huh? Please? Well, maybe we can! But then, not really. Again, like gore and four-letter words, ‘sex’ will be implied. We’d like to show this on TV some day. Perhaps at some point we can make a ‘special edition’ DVD with new, digitally enhanced sex scenes. Just kidding.
Q) Who of the original cast are returning?
A) This movie will feature Nathan Rice (Newmoon the Elf from The Gamers) in a different role, and some of the others in cameo appearances. Look for Phil Price (Nimble the Thief), Jen Page (the elven barmaid), Emily Olson (the princess) and Matt Vancil (Hunk) to make appearances, especially Jen (who is now in a featured role as one of the five party members). Plus, since Matt Vancil is the writer/director, I guess he had to be there, didn’t he?
Q) What is the production quality of this new movie?
A) Much better! The original Gamers had a $500 budget and a home video camera. That was pretty much it. This time, we had a lot more to work with. For example, we filmed in high-definition digital video, using a camera liquidated from Star Wars Episode II, so the picture quality will be incredible. We’re also doing much more professional audio, so everyone’s voices will be crystal clear. Special effects and music are still being worked on, but we’re not going to make our fans wait for years for the same old stuff.
Q) I heard that Midnight Syndicate is doing the music. True? False?
A) Midnight Syndicate gave us permission to use their D&D album for the behind-the-scenes video. However, there are no current plans that I am aware of for their music to be used during the actual movie. The behind-the-scenes video was screened at Gen Con Indy and Gen Con So Cal last year, so if you were there, that’s the one that I’m talking about. This video will be one of the DVD’s many extra features.
Q) Does The Shadow return?
A) Good villains never stay dead. But this movie isn’t a sequel, so don’t expect him to pop up. However, his name DOES pop up, which suggests that the story isn’t fully told at the end of the film …
Q) Does the bard actually sing?
A) Yes he does, a little bit actually, but only for short, painless moments of humor. One of his bard songs was in the behind-the-scenes video screened at conventions. That four-liner is the extent to which he sings at any one time. The bard will have far greater things to worry about than his singing. Bard Crotch, for one. Don’t ask.
Q) I’ve heard that I can get my name into the credits. How do I do that?
A) Until the DVD is produced, we offer at opportune times (such as Gen Con) for our fans to buy a place for their names in the eventual finished film. The terms, conditions and context varies according to when we make the offer. For example, last year people donated some money to allow Scott Brown (the bard) to come to Gen Con, and those folks are going to be in the “Hall of Heroes” (or whatever we end up calling it). Whether or not we do that again this year has yet to be determined.
Q) Where was this Gamers adventure filmed?
A) We visited a variety of locations around western Washington State. Most of the real world was filmed in Tacoma, while the filming of the fantasy world was very widespread. Locations included a cemetery (we filmed there, at night, on a Friday the 13th), old Fort Flagler, a private residence which is an actual castle, the temple of the Knights Pythias, and the Mudhollow Inn, which is a real place. Truly.
Well, there you have the First Twenty Questions. Go ahead and email us more. We’d love to do this once a month to keep our fans receiving steady information regarding the movie. Please note that we try to condense the emails into singular questions, but even then there is no assurance that we can answer EVERY one of them. Questions that ask essentially the same thing will be lumped together, and the more people who ask it the more likely it is to be answered. Also, the more bizarre or ‘far out’ the singular question, the more likely we are to address it just for kicks.